Chapter 249: Explanation 3

Chronicle·Biographical Series Second Cohort: European Tempering Wu Hook, Turbulent Times Bind Dragon and Snake

—Li Yuxuan's German Years and the Mystery of His Connections

Video opening (visual: a black‑and‑white film‑grain European old train station, steam billowing, caption: Autumn 1908. The camera cuts to inside a train carriage, the young Li Yuxuan seated by the window, gazing at the passing foreign scenery, his eyes calm and sharp. The background music is a slightly melancholy intermezzo by Brahms.)

Voice‑over (Chronicle, voice with a probing smile): In the previous episode we mentioned that Li Yuxuan said goodbye to the principal in his hometown and set out alone for Germany. That parting not only separated two continents but seemed to open a fantastical door, allowing this youth from Xikou, China, to embed himself into the cracks of world history in a jaw‑dropping way. Consequently, many netizens later gave him the nickname—"Charm Demon".

(Visual: rapid flashes of online comment screenshots, keywords highlighted: "A genius in textbooks" → "Still underestimated" → "Top‑level treatment" → "Even the Japanese Prime Minister knows him?" → "Liu Bei wouldn't dare call him a Charm Demon in his presence!" → "CP Fans ecstatic")

Voice‑over (light laugh): That's right, "Charm Demon". The term is obviously playful and exaggerated, but it precisely captures the common astonishment of later generations toward Li Yuxuan: he seems to possess a peculiar magnetic field, wherever he goes, whatever his circumstances, he can attract, meet, and even deeply interact with those who are about to or are already influencing the course of world events, often earning their respect or even favor. From Germany's future chief perpetrators and famous generals to the United States' wheelchair president… it is as if the brightest stars on the historical sky always intersect near his trajectory.

(Visual: the episode title appears "European Tempering Wu Hook, Turbulent Times Bind Dragon and Snake—Li Yuxuan's German Years and the Mystery of His Connections". Below in small print: a down‑and‑out painter in Vienna, a young lieutenant in a Berlin tavern, and the future "Blitzkrieg" father.)

Voice‑over: Today we focus on the starting point of his legendary network—his study period in Germany (1908‑1914). See how this Chinese youth, holding a Qing Government Funded Student stipend and determined to learn artillery technology, wove a web of relationships in European cafés, taverns, campuses, and streets that later generations marvel at. Was all this pure coincidence, a joke of fate, or simply his personal traits?

Act One: Vienna Interlude—Encounter with the Ghost of History.

(Visual: animation shows a train near Vienna halted by a malfunction, passengers complaining. Li Yuxuan steps off carrying a simple suitcase. The scene shifts to the streets of Vienna in deep autumn 1908, cold wind blowing, grand architecture tinged with the aura of a declining empire.)

Voice‑over: In the autumn of 1908, while Li Yuxuan was traveling to Berlin, his train suffered a malfunction within the territory and was delayed for a long time. With limited funds, he did not wait it out but chose to make a brief stop in Vienna, taking odd jobs to earn living expenses. This decision now appears laden with destiny. At that time Vienna was the bustling yet peril‑filled capital of the Austro‑Hungarian Empire, a convergence point for various ideas, arts, and down‑and‑out souls.

(Visual: a crowded, smoke‑filled cheap tavern. Li Yuxuan is behind the counter helping wash glasses. In a corner, a gaunt young man with a slightly obsessive gaze is copying an architectural sketch, with several paintings for sale nearby, yet no one shows interest.)

Voice‑over: It was here that Li Yuxuan met the name that would later make the world tremble—Er Zhan Touzi. Yes, not in Berlin but in Vienna. At that time Er Zhan Touzi was not yet a politician, but a street artist and day laborer who dreamed of becoming a painter yet was repeatedly rejected by academies and lived in poverty. Regarding their encounter, Li Yuxuan's diary and later scholarly research roughly reconstruct: perhaps in the tavern where Li was working, perhaps at some job market. Two foreign youths struggling for a livelihood made contact.

(Animation or scene reenactment: Li Yuxuan hands a cup of hot water to Er Zhan Touzi in the corner, or the two briefly converse while leaning against a wall during a short break. Er Zhan Touzi passionately discusses his dissatisfaction with the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, his views on city architecture, and his critique of 'degenerate' art. Li Yuxuan mostly listens quietly, occasionally asking one or two questions in his increasingly proficient German about architectural styles or city history.)

Voice‑over (calm tone but with deep meaning): It must be emphasized that this was by no means a 'historic meeting' or a 'profound intellectual exchange'. In Er Zhan Touzi's eyes, Li Yuxuan may have been just a silent, polite, slightly mysterious Eastern laborer, an occasional audience for his venting of world grievances. And in Li Yuxuan's view at the time, Er Zhan Touzi was merely one of the countless disillusioned Viennese youths, with a radical temperament, fierce speech, feeling unappreciated (or perhaps believing himself unappreciated). Li Yuxuan's diary mentions this episode only as 'Spent several days wandering Vienna, met an Austrian painter in a café; his speech was fiery, often voiced discontent with the academy and municipal affairs, yet he had distinct insights into architectural forms,' without further elaboration.

Voice‑over: Yet it is precisely this 'plain and unremarkable' encounter that, under the magnifying glass of later history, became legendary. When people discovered that the Demon King who would later spark a world war once had a brief encounter with China's Li Yuxuan in the cold wind of Vienna, the temporal‑spatial dissonance was beyond shocking. This became the first solid proof for the 'Charm Demon' claim: see, he even 'knows' Er Zhan Touzi!

Act Two: Studying in Berlin—The Eastern Scholar in the Military Hall.

(Visual: Li Yuxuan arrives in Berlin, enters a stern Prussian‑style building—the German Military Academy. He changes into a Cadet Uniform, studying German Drill Manual, Artillery Mathematics, Ballistics, Cartography, etc.)

Voice‑over: After leaving Vienna, Li Yuxuan arrived in Berlin smoothly, and with his Qing Government Funded Student status and solid cultural foundation (especially in mathematics and physics), entered the world‑leading German Military Education System of the time. His goal was clear: to learn the most advanced artillery technology and master one of the core elements of modern warfare. Here he was no longer a wandering laborer, but a diligent, focused, high‑achieving Eastern cadet.

(Visual: shows Li Yuxuan studying earnestly in classrooms, artillery ranges, and drafting rooms. Scenes of him exchanging tactical ideas with German classmates.)

Voice‑over: Li Yuxuan's outstanding performance stemmed not only from technical mastery but also from his deep study of German military theory, especially Kelaoseweizi's On War and Mao Qi Strategic Thought. He could discuss abstract concepts such as 'War is the continuation of politics' and 'Heavy psychology theory' in German with instructors, which made some German instructors and classmates take a fresh look at this Chinese youth. Professional competence was the first stepping stone that earned him respect and entry into more central circles.

Voice‑over: Netizens often marvel at his 'top‑level treatment', and that 'treatment' first comes from ability. In the rigorously tiered, professionalism‑valuing German Military Academy, without genuine talent and learning, mere 'charm' won't get you anywhere. Li Yuxuan's 'charm' lies first in his hunger for knowledge and the speed at which he grasps it.